Attorneys / Sarah M. Hoffman
Sarah M. Hoffman
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Practice Groups
Long-Term Care Facilities, Medical & Healthcare Providers, Nonprofits, Professional Liability
Biography
Sarah Hoffman is a health care litigator who represents health care systems and individual providers in litigation and board matters, and she has experience advising clients during the process of claim assessments and internal investigations. Sarah has handled a variety of complex health care cases during her career, including representing providers in multi-million dollar birth injury cases, and defending correctional medicine providers in medical malpractice cases and actions involving civil rights issues. Sarah also represents health care providers in cases involving the appointment of guardians and conservators for patients in need of decision-makers.
She is Co-Chair of the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association’s Medical Liability and Health Care Law Committee and is a past Co-Chair of the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association’s Women in the Law Committee. Sarah also serves as Chair of Bassford Remele’s Pro Bono Committee. Additionally, Sarah previously served on the firm’s Board of Directors and as co-chair of its Associate Development Committee.
Education
- William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2008
- Law Journal, Assistant Editor
- Concordia College, B.A., magna cum laude, 2005
Bar Admissions
- U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
Judicial Clerkships
- First Judicial District, The Honorable Shawn Moynihan, Law Clerk, 2008-2013
Representative Cases
Sarah has been part of litigation teams handling high-damage medical malpractice cases involving complex medical and legal issues.
- Part of a litigation team that obtained a defense verdict for an obstetrical practice group accused of negligence in failing to deliver a child born with e. coli meningitis, born to a mother with preterm premature rupture of membranes, who left the hospital against her physicians’ advice.
- Part of a litigation team that obtained a defense verdict for an emergency room physician in a case involving allegations of improperly prescribing an antibiotic, and contentions of extensive medication side effects.
- Part of a litigation team that obtained a defense verdict for a dermatopathologist accused of failing to diagnose melanoma in a wrongful death case.
- Part of a litigation team that obtained a defense verdict in a birth injury case for a family practice physician accused of failing to timely deliver a child later diagnosed with neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy.
- Part of a litigation team that obtained a defense verdict for a general surgeon in a case involving a pseudomonas bacterial infection, and allegations that defendant surgeon failed to perform an examination that would have led to earlier diagnosis of the infection.
- Part of a litigation team that obtained a defense verdict in a negligent nondisclosure case involving disclosure of risks of LASIK surgery.
Publications
- The Whole Truth: What Whole Exome Sequencing and Other Genetic Tests Can Reveal about Causation in Birth Injury Cases, author, Minnesota Defense, Winter 2020
Seminars
Sarah regularly presents to and trains health care providers and lawyers on issues relating to health care law and the greater industry.
- How to Lead Within Your Firm, panel speaker, Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association’s Rising Leader Seminar, June 20, 2024
- 2023 Medical Malpractice Conference, course co-chair, Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association and Minnesota Association for Justice, April 13, 2023
- Medical Liability in Minnesota, presenter, Minnesota Medical Association Physician Forum, August 3, 2022
- Effective Communication Across Surgical Center Teams, Your Role in Preventing Malpractice Claims, presenter, Minnesota Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, October 28, 2021
- Perspectives from In-House Counsel, panel moderator, Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association Women in the Law Committee, November 13, 2018
- The Reptile Theory: How to Spot the Snake in the Grass and Strike Back Before Trial, co-presenter, Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association Trial Techniques Seminar, Duluth, MN, August 17, 2018
- Understanding the Opioid Epidemic and Its Impact on Litigation, co-presenter, HCBA/MNAJ/MDLA 2018 Medical Malpractice Conference, April 12, 2018
- Use of the Health Officer Authority: Answers to Frequently-Asked Questions, presenter, private health system, 2017
- Medical Assistance Liens – Update on the Law, presenter, HCBA/MNAJ/MDLA 2017 Medical Malpractice Conference, May 20, 2017
- Minimizing the Risk of Malpractice Lawsuits: Informed Consent, Negligent Nondisclosure, and the “Reptile” Theory, co-presenter, large private practice health care provider, 2016
- Peer Review 101: Rules of the Road, co-presenter, Minnesota Society for Healthcare Risk Management, June 24, 2016
- The ACA’s Impact on Medical Malpractice Litigation, presenter, large regional health care provider, May 4, 2016
- Expecting the Unexpected: How to Keep Your Cool Under Pressure, co-presenter, Minnesota Defense Lawyers Mid-Winter Conference, January 29, 2016
- Working with Experts, Continuing Education Seminar, co-presenter, Minnesota State Bar Association, December 2, 2015
Professional Achievements
- Douglas K. Amdahl Inn of Court, Master
Bar Associations
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Health Law Section
- State Bar of Wisconsin
- Health Law Section
- Hennepin County Bar Association
Professional Associations
- Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association
- Medical Liability and Health Care Law Committee, Co-Chair, 2020-present
- Women in the Law Committee, Co-Chair, 2018-2020
- Minnesota Hospital Association
- Minnesota Women Lawyers
Civic Involvement
- Tubman Safety Project
- William Mitchell College of Law, mentor, 2012-2013
- Pro Se Clinic at William Mitchell College of Law, Minnesota Justice Foundation, volunteer attorney, 2009-2011
Honors & Awards
- Notable Woman in the Law, Twin Cities Business, 2025
- The Best Lawyers in America©, Medical Malpractice Law-Defendants, 2025-present; Health Care Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants, 2026
- Top Lawyers list, Minnesota Monthly, Health Care Law, 2024; Medical Malpractice Law, 2025
- Minnesota Super Lawyers list, Super Lawyers, 2023-present
- Minnesota Rising Stars list, Super Lawyers, 2016-2022
